Tree and plaque at Estancia Park to memorialize longtime Costa Mesa resident

Feb. 26, 2016 6:06 PM PT

The Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission approved a new memorial tree and plaque for Estancia Park on Thursday.

The plaque will memorialize longtime Costa Mesa resident Rick Baker, who died in June at age 59.

Baker and his wife, Susan, lived in the Mesa Verde neighborhood and frequented the park. They met while students at Estancia High School and were married in 1975.

“We have spent a lot of time over the years enjoying the sunsets and tranquillity of Estancia Park,” Susan Baker wrote in a letter to city staff. “I feel this memorial plaque and tree at the Estancia Park would be a beautiful tribute for a wonderful man and a special place for his family and friends to cherish his memory.”

Baker’s family will donate the tree and plaque. The city will incur the cost of installing them, estimated at $225.

The commission also chose Brett Eckles and Bob Graham as its chairman and vice chairman, respectively.

Bradley Zint

Bradley Zint left Times Community News in 2018. He was a general assignment reporter for the Daily Pilot, where he worked since 2010. At the Pilot, he also was a copy editor, classical music columnist and reporter covering Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. He previously worked in Hermosa Beach, Long Beach, Alaska and Massachusetts. He is a graduate of Cal State Long Beach, where he served as editor-in-chief of its campus newspaper, the Daily 49er.